I have an LG front-loader that’s about five years old. I’ve figured out that the “Permanent Press” cycle extracts A LOT more water than the other cycles (though I believe I can change that setting on other cycles, if i care to). Much less soap residue.
Plus, I found that my quilts don’t cause the machine to go out of balance if I use less soap on the “Bulky” cycle. It’s weird, but true. I used to use about 1 tablespoon and now use about half of that. Never gone out of balance since. Buuut (see above), that cycle does not extract all the soap.
I got rid of my front loader and replaced it with a top-loader with an old-school agitator and lint trap. I’m a lot happier now, even if it does take forever to run a load.
The only reliable long-lasting top loaders are Speed Queen commercial. And they are really hard to get, because SQ has now slapped their logo on a bunch of crap “residential” machines that are no better than anything else on the market. You’d basically have to form an LLC and buy it through there to get a good one.
Worth it.
Front loaders are more efficient, so their specs look good. And they do clean reasonably well just because they tumble the clothes. But they don’t rinse as well. So if rinsing is what you are really after, you will do much better with a top loader (as was already said upthread).
Everyone I know that has a front loader also complains that they end up stinking after a short time.
I have a Samsung top loader that isn’t very old, and I’ve never had this problem with it. It doesn’t like it if the load is dramatically unbalanced, but that’s easy to fix by stopping it and re-arranging the load. In my experience it is more likely to just stop and beep at you than it is to go through any sort of refill cycling. Maybe that is something that they changed recently?
It cleans pretty well. I’ve never noticed the lack of a mechanical agitator in the center to be an issue.
The “normal” cycle does take a while though. The older top loaders that we had over the years had a faster regular cycle.
The tear-downs of the residential speed queens suggest they are well-made. But the cleaning tests suggest they are middle of the road. So, a perfectly okay washer that lasts a long time.
Of course, they apparently cheat on at least some of their machines and use more water in the modes other than the regular mode that the government tests. If i knew someone who had one, I’d like to run a test load. But they’re pretty expensive to buy just on a hope, especially given the cleaning test results. I can’t say I’m not considering it, though.
I agree. One of the reasons I got a top-loader as a replacement for my failed LG front-loader was that, even though it’s “high-efficiency” and uses HE detergent, it can really soak the laundry. Instead of bragging about how “little” water it uses, it drenches the stuff when washing and then thoroughly rinses it in two soaking rinse cycles. The two rinse cycles are optional but I always select them. Another tip is that the recommended amounts of detergent are always way too much. I use about half of what’s “recommended”.
I sometimes use Eucalan wool wash, where it doesnt even need a rinse- but you can and i do. Gets stuff very soft, and is great on woolens and delicates- and even my Carhartt t-shirts.
Huh. My understanding, which perhaps is totally wrong, is that top loaders kind of stopped working when the new water efficiency standards were introduced, like low flow toilets didn’t really work for 20 years.
And I’ve used commercial front loaders, back in the days when i lived in apartments, and they worked fine. Of course, that was also before the new water efficiency standards.
I live in dread of having to replace my old Maytag, which is probably around 40 years old (it was here in the house when we bought it 20 years ago, and it was old then). I am very sensitive to detergent ingredients, I now use those laundry sheets (Earth Breeze, fragrance free) and since I started those I have been blissfully non-itchy (before, I was using All Free and Clear, but these are even better). Can you use those sheets in HE machines?
I appreciate all the experiences with front loader HE machines that everyone is sharing. I will remember them when that dreaded day comes.
Well, my Magtag top-loader works just fine. I’m not exactly sure why it requires “HE” detergent, but since the manufacturer recommends it, that’s what I use.
My observation is that it fills up with a lot more water than the LG front-loader ever did, but less than an old-fashioned washing machine. It spins the laundry around for a while, and then adds a bunch more water for the main wash cycle. I assume the first part is to wash with a maximum concentration of detergent, and the rest of it is to thoroughly soak with lots of water. At this point everything is submerged in water. That’s my idea of a proper wash.
There are other options, too. “Bulky items” adds even more water. There’s also an option to disable auto-fill and just fill up the tub the way old washers used to do it (I’ve never needed to use that). And of course the “extra rinse” option that I always select, because I’m totally with you on not wanting leftover soap.
There was an interesting YouTube video I watched some time ago when pondering different washing machines. It showed a machine going through a normal wash using the recommended amount of detergent, and when it was all done, the YouTuber ran the machine a second time with no detergent, and it was amazing to see the amount of soap bubbles in the water! That’s why I use two rinse cycles!
Well, at least according to Energy Star, they generally use more water than the front-loaders. How much less water a HE top-loader uses than the older non-efficient ones, I don’t know, sorry =/
Just for a contrary opinion, FYI, we actually like our LG HE front-loader a lot (it was $800 from Costco). But we don’t have any sensitivities to detergents or other additives, and just use the run-of-the-mill Kirkland Signature (Costco) detergent powder and softener. We do big loads several times a week, since my partner’s a vet tech who gets gross animal juices all over her uniforms. Every load has come out clean, taking under an hour. It has no smells (we keep the door open after every load). No issues balancing loads big or small. It’s big enough to clean quilts, sleeping bags, etc. easily. We do occasionally have to drain water out of the bottom trap and clean the lint filter, but that only takes like 5 min every few months. It has a bunch of wifi features and fancy cycles we never use, just the basic cold wash with minimal detergent, and it’s fantastic for that. Quiet too.
That isn’t necessarily a strong endorsement for either that particular model or front-loaders in general, just one opinion that they don’t have to be terrible.
The OP has a specific need for more water, which is what front loaders purposely try to avoid. Hence the recommendation for top loaders for her in particular.
I definitely don’t expect it to last decades though. Be lucky to get 5-10 years out of it. I don’t expect any modern appliances to last…
My experience is similar. I’ve had now 5 different makes and models of front loaders. That’s due to moving to different residences, not due to failures. They’ve all been totally reliable, totally good at washing and rinsing clothes, fast, quiet, etc. No stinking, no service calls.
These aren’t something exotic. My current Whirlpools are nice apartment grade, not fancypants at all. No wifi, no LCD screen, just a knob and a couple buttons. Works great; no complaints.
My machine has worked reliably, and the machine itself doesn’t smell. It comes with a handy feature to leave the door propped open when not in use. (It smelled like “new machinery” for a whole, but that has dissipated.) And as far as visually removing soil, it works great.
But it’s not just the soap. If i only run it on “colors” and don’t run an additional cycle to rinse it, the clothes sometimes retain some body odor. That never happened with my old non-HE top loader.
Fwiw, running the extra “heavy soil” cycle without soap as a rinse cycle does work. The clothes i do that with come out very clean. I’m just bitter and resentful that i need to run an additional 90 minute cycle after I’ve “washed” the clothes.
But they ought to need less water, by their mechanism. I was taught in chemistry class to use three small rinses rather than one big one to remove soap residue from glassware. Front loaders ought to be able to work well. Maybe it’s easier or more tempting to cheat the tests with top loaders, and have cycles that use water like an old non-HE machine. But I’d heard bad things about HE top loaders, because it took a lot more engineering to make them run with less water.
I’ve had an inexpensive, Whirlpool top loader since 2019.
I was not expecting such a huge change in how things worked.
It was making all kinds of what I thought were alarming noises and taking too much time to get the job done so I called the store repeatedly for advice.
It took some time and a personal visit from the local store of purchase to get the basics. He came down and walked me through how to work the device and explained all of the unfamiliar noises.
Through the years I have managed to figure out how to add additional water when needed. It has a lot of cycles and water settings that I occasionally change but I am a simple, Quick Wash person and like my laundry done in 35 - 40 minutes.
It does have a rinse and spin cycle which I have used on occasion.
It has a huge load capacity and I can wash my twin comforter.
Never had any trouble with soap removal or smells (except for the time I used dish soap). I always leave the lid open
I’ve only used front loaders at laundromats. My house is not able to accommodate that size of machine in the assigned laundry space off my kitchen.
Washing machines in Europe are designed differently, but Electrolux is also available, as it is a Swedish company. I can think of a few points regarding your problem: have you tried liquid detergents? They are easier and more precise to dose, especially in low doses. The desire for a machine that uses a lot of water is problematic from an ecological point of view. There is a good reason why these appliances are designed for low water consumption. Many appliances allow you to program an additional rinse cycle. If this takes too long for you, you can select a speed cycle, which most appliances offer, mostly they take 50% of the time. If your laundry is not clean enough or has a bad smell, you can try a higher temperature; at 140-158 degrees, the result may be better. Heavily soiled laundry will be clean at 194 degrees. If the rinsing result is not satisfactory, it is almost always due to too much detergent. The ecological programmes use very little water, maybe chose a cycle with no ecological features.
I use liquid detergent. I wash two loads of laundry every other week, and my washing is a very small fraction of the household water use. Most of my neighbors water their lawn every other day in the summer. And despite some dry years, this is a fairly wet part of the world. (Yes, i often see automatic lawn sprinklers going merrily away in the rain.) I have a choice of one extra rinse cycle, and always select that. I don’t really have a choice of temperature, just “cold, warm, hot” for some programmed cycles. I don’t have any cycles labeled as “eco”.
But they’re pretty expensive to buy just on a hope, especially given the cleaning test results. I can’t say I’m not considering it, though.